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by Antonia Gonzales
Daily, five-minute newscast featuring the latest headlines and breaking news from Native and Indigenous communities anchored by Antonia Gonzales (Navajo) with reporters and storytellers from around the globe.
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- Today4 min
Friday, November 6, 2026
Grassroots leaders are celebrating historic victories for Native candidates in Tuesday’s election. They hope Lt. Gov. and U.S. Sen.-elect Peggy Flanagan (White Earth Band of Ojibwe), D-Minnesota, will bring her state and the nation a specific type of leadership allies say is sorely needed. Mike Moen reports. Flanagan, and Mary Peltola (Yup-ik) if she wins her race in Alaska, will be the first Native women to serve in the U.S. Senate. Former U.S. Interior Secretary and Gov.-elect Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo), D-New Mexico, will be the first Native woman to lead a state government. Wizipan Garriott of the advocacy group NDN Collective says he thinks these women bring a unique skillset. “Indigenous women have always been protectors, caregivers of not only, you know, Native Americans, but of the country. And it’s hard to imagine two people who are more qualified.” As the nation deals with quality-of-life crises, Garriott predicts these officeholders will bring that caring mindset to needs like healthcare affordability. Flanagan and fellow Democrats have said they would like to restore funding to federal food assistance and Medicaid that was cut in last year’s tax-and-policy law pushed through by Republicans. It is unclear how successful they will be with President Donald Trump still in office and without a veto-proof majority. As lieutenant governor, Flanagan helped usher in policies that bolstered relationships with regional tribes. Garriott says that experience is crucial for transitioning to the U.S. Senate and the decisions it makes that affect tribal sovereignty. “You hear people campaign and talk about saying, you know, ‘I’ve been a doctor. I know firsthand what it takes to make healthcare better.’ Well, we’re talking about a leader who’s grown up Native American, who understands what it’s going to take to really live up to those treaty and trust obligations.” Flanagan previously served on the Minneapolis School Board and led the Children’s Defense Fund-Minnesota before ascending into elected roles in state government. Her supporters say those experiences also align with past generations of Native women who fought for better community outcomes. <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-38641" class="size-full wp-image-38641" src="https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/06043436/haaland-ntu.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1152" srcset="https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/06043436/haaland-ntu.jpg 2048w, https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/06043436/haaland-ntu-300x169.jpg 300w, https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/06043436/haaland-ntu-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/06043436/haaland-ntu-768x432.jpg 768w, https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-w
- Yesterday4 min
Thursday, November 5, 2026
Unofficial results show the Navajo Nation has elected its first woman to the tribe’s top seat. KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has more. Navajo Nation Council Speaker Crystalyne Curley now has another title: president-elect. “And to the little girls that are out there, shíyázhí, anything is possible.” Curley and her running mate, former state Rep. Chris Deschene, D-Arizona, won by little more than 1,000 votes, but the opposing ticket, led by New Mexico attorney Justin Jones, is not giving up. “We are not conceding… The fight has just begun.” He is calling for a recount, claiming Curley and Deschene are the “losers”, and even accusing their campaign of “cheating”. Jones thinks the counts from each of the tribe’s 110 polling places are too close. “There are some dark, grey mathematical errors that we’re looking at.” Meanwhile, outgoing President Buu Nygren congratulated President-elect Curley on social media, wishing her incoming administration success. (Courtesy Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College Financial Aid Office / Facebook) Tribal college leaders in North Dakota say a $70 million gift to expand higher education in Indian Country will be earth-shifting for institutions that have long operated with limited resources, as Judith Ruiz-Branch reports. The American Indian College Fund announced a seven-year plan to strengthen Tribal institutions backed by a gift from Yield Giving, the philanthropic organization of MacKenzie Scott. Twyla Baker, president of Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College, says in her 12-year tenure as president, she has never seen a gift this size. Baker says it will provide benefits well beyond her campus supporting not only individual learners, but also communities and rural economies. “We can change lives with what we do on tribal college campuses. An investment of this nature, you can almost not [laughs] get a return on your investment.” Baker says every dollar invested in Tribal colleges and universities returns $1.60 in tax revenue and public-sector savings. NHSC sits along the Fort Berthold Reservation and is one of five institutions that make up the North Dakota Tribal System. The funding will support scholarships, prof
- 2 days ago4 min
Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) has become the first Native female governor in a historic victory in New Mexico. KUNM’s Jeanette DeDios (Jicarilla Apache and Diné) reports. Hundreds gathered at Route 66 Casino to witness history being made as Haaland gave her victory speech. Haaland pointed to the significance of holding the celebration on Pueblo land. “I remember carrying water from the community spigot and playing outside from sunrise to sunset, spending time in my grandfather’s cornfield, helping him irrigate. And just off this road, my grandmother was taken away to boarding school, yet we are still here.” She previously represented New Mexico in Congress and later served as interior secretary in the Biden administration. During her time there, she created the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative. U.S. Interior Sec. Deb Haaland listens to testimony about the Indian boarding school experience during a session in Anchorage, Alaska in 2023. (Photo: Matt Faubion) Haaland pledged to pursue stronger public education, repair the troubled Children, Youth, and Families Department of New Mexico, address violent crime and fentanyl, and expand access to healthcare. “New Mexicans are tired of having to travel hours outside of their communities just to access basic health care. I will create a path toward universal healthcare. ” Haaland will replace term-limited Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-New Mexico, on January 1. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-38627" class="size-full wp-image-38627" src="https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/04084348/11.3.26-Mary-Peltola-on-Election-Night-Matt-Faubion-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="1705" srcset="https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/04084348/11.3.26-Mary-Peltola-on-Election-Night-Matt-Faubion-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/04084348/11.3.26-Mary-Peltola-on-Election-Night-Matt-Faubion-300x200.jpg 300w, https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/04084348/11.3.26-Mary-Peltola-on-Election-Night-Matt-Faubion-1024x6
- 3 days ago4 min
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Today is Election Day, with many voters across Indian Country turning out at the ballot box in many states. Brian Bull recently talked to Underscore Native News colleague Nika Bartoo-Smith (Osage & Oneida Nation), who is a joint reporter with Underscore and ICT, and asked her what the nationwide midterm ballot looks like in terms of Indigenous candidates. “County seats, city council seats, school boards, um, auditor, city auditor, those kinds of things. And what we’ve seen is across 17 states, there’s over 117 Indigenous candidates that are running, and that doesn’t include some of the higher profile races like Senate positions, like I think about Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) in New Mexico, who’s running for governor. So there’s well over 100 candidates all across the country.” Bartoo-Smith also talked to an Oglala Lakota official about the diversity of candidates who are running for office during these midterm elections. “Yeah, yeah, I talked to Kevin Killer, who is former president of the Oglala Sioux tribe. He also served as a state senator and state representative in South Dakota, and he talked about just how in the last decade or so, he’s really seen an uptick in native candidates across political parties. So, you know, beyond Democrat and Republican and independent, and he really talked about how that’s actually such a good thing because it, it’s important to see this like range of diversity of opinions in people. And as we know, Native people are not a monolith. And so it makes sense that their canon should be native folks running across all different party affiliations.” Bartoo-Smith reported on ballot measures that will be put before voters this midterm election and will have a significant impact on Native communities. “There’s over 140 different statewide ballot measures across the country. There are 31 ballot measures across 15 states that really have the potential to impact Native folks and communities. And those span a whole number of issues that range from voting rights to abortion access to environment to 2SLGBTQ+ rights to cannabis regulation and well beyond that. And folks I talked to really just talked about the importance of these ballot measures actually have, have such a, have such a possibility of impacting our day-to-day lives. And how it is really important to not forget about those in the conversation of voting and beyond just the candidates that are going to serve an office, but thinking about the policies that can be put in place in our states that really have the ability to impact Native folks across the spectrum. So urban Native folks and tribal communities, and beyond.” <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-38610" class="wp-image-38610 size-full" src="https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/02210507/carneymeeting.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1366" srcset="https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/02210507/carneymeeting.jpg 2048w, https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/02210507/carneymeeting-300x200.jpg 300w, https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/02210507/carneymeeting-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/02210507/carneymeeting-768x512.jpg 768w, https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-conte
- 4 days ago4 min
Monday, November 2, 2026
The national chief of Canada’s Assembly of First Nations is warning Prime Minister Mark Carney not to abuse his majority government to pass new legislation on major projects. As Dan Karpenchuk reports, Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak says the proposed new law could affect the rights of the country’s First Nations. Nepinak first issued the warning in September and again more recently as the issue is before the Canadian parliament. The new law would speed up the construction of new so-called nation-building projects such as pipelines, energy projects, and critical mineral mines. It is part of Carney’s plan to boost employment and find new markets for Canadian resources as he grapples with the frosty trade relationship with the United States. After a handful of federal by-elections, Carney now has a majority government and Nepinak says do not forget about the Indigenous people. “Well, the major projects office cannot be used as a side step for our rights. Every minister and prime minister in this country and the government itself cannot use the major projects as a crutch to try to get away from speaking and interacting with First Nations.” Nepinak is also critical of the staff at the major projects office, adding that they do not know what they are doing when it comes to First Nations. She says the prime minister must allow First Nations leaders to suggest amendments to the proposed legislation and his government should be open to them. She says passing the so-called “Building Canada Strong Act” could affect First Nations rights. Carney did meet with First Nations chiefs in October as well as with the country’s provincial premiers, but many first nations leaders are still wary of the legislation. (Courtesy Bad Press) The acclaimed film, “Bad Press”, gets its public television debut this month, starting with Chicago’s PBS market. The 2023 documentary looks at the recent battle over press freedom rights in Oklahoma’s Muscogee community. Recently, “Bad Press” was taken on a statewide tour in Oregon, which included a stop in Madras, near the Warm Springs Reservation. Angel Ellis, the film’s central character, was among the panelists. She is the director of Mvskoke Media and advocated for the retur
- 1 weeks ago4 min
Friday, October 30, 2026
Volunteer observers are heading to several states including South Dakota polling places to help protect Native voting rights. Four Directions Native Vote is sending at least 75 lawyers and law students to more than 40 polling locations statewide. Laura Hatch has details. The nonpartisan effort will cover all nine of the state’s reservations and Rapid City, which has a large Lakota population. Greg Lembrich is the nonprofit’s legal director. “In a midterm, we’re going to have our largest group ever really speaks to the recognition around the country and in South Dakota of how under threat democracy is, particularly for minorities and some of our nation’s most vulnerable residents.” Lembrich says the legal observers will focus on South Dakota’s new law requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. He is also concerned about interference from FBI or ICE agents, and says the volunteers are trained on what to do if that happens. The Native American Rights Fund is sending more than 300 volunteers to six additional states with large numbers of Native American voters, including North Dakota, Nevada, and New Mexico. Samantha Blencke, senior staff attorney for NARF, says ensuring Native voters can vote is always important in Indian Country, and legal assistance at the polls matters. She says, in 2024, numerous voters in Lyman and Buffalo counties in South Dakota believed they registered to vote, only to learn at the polls that county auditors never received their registrations. She stresses Native voters face many barriers, including long distances to election offices, requiring a physical address to register to vote, and reducing the number of polling places. “If someone’s told, ‘Hey, just go back home and get the right document and come back,’ that could be a three-hour drive. So it’s really important to have assistance on the spot. And of course, our immediate goal is to make sure that voters can exercise their rights during the election.” Lembrich says South Dakota has been at the forefront of equal voting rights for Native Americans for decades, with state laws and procedures discouraging Native Americans from voting. He adds the Native vote may not change the course of races for governor or Congress, but it can have a huge impact on the local level. “That’s really where so much of government happens, and the fact that Tribal members are serving in those roles and able to elect people to those roles who are going to work on their issues and listen to their voices is really critical.” Voters can report voting issues by calling 1-866-OUR-VOTE. Blencke says, if callers identify themselves as a Native voter, they will be connected to legal help from NARF. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-38588" class="size-full wp-image-38588" src="https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/30083350/pinyon-plain-mine2.jpg" alt="" width="1760" height="1054" srcset="https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/30083350/pinyon-plain-mine2.jpg 1760w, https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/30083350/pinyon-plain-mine2-300x180.jpg 300w, https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/30083350/pinyon-plain-mine2-1024x613.jpg 1024w, https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/30083350/pinyon-plain-mine2-76
- 1 weeks ago4 min
Thursday, October 29, 2026
Indigenous high school students in Nebraska are getting a head start in a challenging job market. Chrystal Blair has more. For many young people, landing that first job can be difficult without prior work experience. A Nebraska program is helping Indigenous students overcome that hurdle by providing hands-on training, career exploration, and mentorship while they are still in high school. The latest federal jobs report shows teen unemployment at 14.5% nationally, compared with 4.2% overall. A Winnebago-based apprenticeship program operated by Ho-Chunk Inc. is helping students earn academic credit while gaining hands-on work experience. Terri Lee Medina (Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska and Santee Sioux Nation descendant), Ho-Chunk Inc. community programs manager, says the experience can also help students make informed career choices before investing time and money in additional education. “Save them some money if they know, ‘Oh, I wanna go to be a teacher,’ or, ‘I wanna go be a construction worker.’ They know their avenues to take to do that, and then hopefully return on investment. We’ve been able to see some of those that are starting to come back through our internship program, our collegiate program here at Ho-Chunk.” Since launching in 2022, the apprenticeship has helped more than 200 students gain on-the-job experience. Medina says program graduates have gone on to pursue vocational certifications, college degrees, military service, and careers within Tribal organizations. For young people entering the workforce, one of the biggest challenges can be getting hired without previous experience. Medina says employers often expect applicants to have both education and practical skills, creating barriers for students just starting their careers. She says apprenticeship programs can help bridge that gap while teaching professionalism, customer service, and other skills employers value. “They either have the education and they don’t have the experience, or they have the experience but they don’t have the education. And so I think it is removing those barriers and having them believe that, ‘Oh, I don’t have a driver’s license,’ and we go that extra mile and we help them study for an exam, go take them driving.” Participants in the apprenticeship program earn ten high school credits per semester while exploring career options. Medina says several former participants have moved into leadership position. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-38583" src="https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/29041225/2026_10_30FashionShow_digitalgraphic.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="844" srcset="https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/
- 1 weeks ago4 min
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Native allies are deploying observers to polling sites in states like North Dakota in an effort to overcome potential barriers at the ballot box as voters prepare for the November 3 midterm election. Judith Ruiz-Branch reports. Native American Rights Fund volunteers in its first midterm election protection program aim to help voters overcome potential barriers at the polls and document recurring problems for future prevention. NARF Senior Staff Attorney Samantha Blencke says attorneys, law students, and faculty volunteers will try to address issues like voter intimidation and misinformation about documentation requirements on the spot to help prevent eligible voters from being turned away. “A right on paper means very little if you can’t exercise it at your polling place. So our immediate priority is to help people vote, but we also will be documenting what happens, and that helps us prevent the same barriers from reoccurring.” The efforts come as President Donald Trump and other Republicans push for stricter federal voting requirements, which they say would strengthen election security. North Dakota is one of nine states that NARF is deploying volunteers to based on where they have heard concerns in the past. Early in-person voting is already underway in some North Dakota counties for next week’s election. Voters can learn more at Vote.ND.gov. North Dakota has a long history of barriers for Native American voting, including restrictions that led to federal lawsuits and changes to state voting procedures. but those adjustments have not eliminated all barriers. NARF says Native voters in North Dakota were still turned away over Tribal ID issues in 2024, while address requirements and long distances to polling places continue to create challenges. Blencke explains address and ID requirements can burden voters whose homes lack conventional street addresses – or whose IDs contain outdated information. “This is hugely important. It’s always important in Indian country. For example, if someone’s told, “Hey, just go back home and get the right document and come back,” that could be a three-hour drive. So it’s really important to have assistance on the spot.” Blencke says observers will seek to ensure Tribal IDs and supplemental documents are recognized. North Dakota does not require voter registration, but voters need an accepted ID showing their current residential address and date of birth. Supplemental documents may help if information is outdated. Voters who encounter problems can call 866-OUR-VOTE. Blencke adds that they can identify themselves as a Native voter to be connected with NARF for assistance. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-38577" class="size-full wp-image-38577" src="https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/28084717/signing-agreement-hawaii-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="1256" srcset="https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/28084717/signing-agreement-hawaii-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/28084717/signing-agreement-hawaii-300x147.jpg 300w, https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/28084717/signing-agreement-hawaii-1024x502.jpg 1024w, https://nativenews-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/28084717/signing-agreement-hawaii-768x377.jpg
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